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IS33 I 

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AN ADDRESS, 



BEFORE THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 



NASSAU-HALL, 

ON THE DAY OF THE 

ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT 

OF THE COLLEGE, 
SEPTEMBER 35, 1833. 



BY JOHN SERGEANT, LL. D. 



PUBLIHSED BY REGIUEST OF THE ASSOCIATION. 




PRINCETON: 

PRINTED BY BAKER & CONNOLLY. 

1833. 



To the Hon. John Sergeant: 

Sir, — The undersigned, Members of the Alumni Association 
of the College of New Jersey, having been appointed for the purpose, 
feel great pleasure in tending to you the thanks of said Association, 
for the very appropriate and impressive Address, which you delivered 
before them this afternoon ; and we do hereby, agreeably to our 
instructions, request a copy of the same for publication. 

VV. NEILL, 
(Signed) J. D. FYLER, 

JOHN MACLEAN. 
Princeton, Sept. 25, 1833. 



Princeton, Sept. 26, 1833. 
Gentlemen, — In compliance with the request in your note of yes- 
terday, I have the pleasure now of sending you a copy of the Address 
delivered before the Alumni Association. 

Be pleased to make known to that body my sense of their kindness, 
in estimating my effort to fulfil their wishes, and to accept for the 
Association, and for yourselves, the assurance of the affectionate and 
respectful regard, of, gentlemen, 

Yours, verv truly, 

JOHN SERGEANT. 
Rev. W. Neill, D. D. 
Rev. J. D. Filer, 
Rev. Professor Maclean. 



% 



AN ADDRESS. 



Brethren of the 

Alumni Association — 

The venerable Institution which this day receives the 
renewed expression of our affectionate duty and respect, is 
associated in our recollection with an interesting period in our 
lives. From the calm shade of the College, where he has 
been sheltered and nourished, the student goes forth into the 
world, and finds himself in a great measure left to his own 
guidance. The first moment is one of enjoyment. Freed 
from the restraints of discipline, his existence seems to be 
concentrated in the single sensation that now, he is his own 
master. This is the point to which his thoughts, his hopes 
and his wishes, have been long directed with eager anxiety — 
he has reached the horizon that has hitherto bounded his little 
world, leaving all beyond to be filled up with the creations 
of his youthful fancy. Very soon, however, if he be capable 
of considerate reflection, he perceives that he has only taken 
a new departure, and that the stage which is before him 
requires a still more vigorous exertion of manly resolution 
and manly strength. Nor does it admit of a pause. While 
he is yet taking an affectionate leave of the guardians and 
instructors of his youth, and bidding adieu to the companions 
of his studies and amusements, even then, when the feeling 



G 

of gaiety is checked by the unavoidably painful conscious- 
ness, that the relations which are thus terminated can never 
be restored; in the midst of the tumult which agitates him 
with unusual emotion, he must look through the tear which 
lingers on his eye, to the world that is opening upon his 
view, and apply his hand, warm from the parting embrace, 
to the work that is before him, cold as it may seem to be. 

Such a transition forms an epoch in the life of man. It 
is an epoch full of the deepest interest. And how can it be 
otherwise? If the education of youth be of that momentous 
importance, which mankind have always agreed that it is, 
its closing scene, the moment when the work is pronounced 
to be ended, whether its purpose has been accomplished or 
not, the last affectionate lesson, conveyed in the benediction 
and charge — the heartfelt invocation of Heaven's guidance 
and protection for those who are going forth — the solemn 
and the earnest effort to send with them a deep and final 
impression of the paternal spirit which has watched over and 
nurtured them in the days of their pupillage — the anxious 
solicitude that is in every way manifested for their future 
welfare — all these are so many affecting admonitions that 
one great opportunity has gone by, never to return. 

To this point in our existance the memory will often recur 
in after years. How many recollections will be associated 
with it! How many inquiries will be suggested by it! 
Our venerable Alma Mater, does she continue to enjoy 
undiminished health and strength, and to spread before her 
children, with affectionate kindness, the daily provision of 
wholesome nourishment? The ministers of her dispensations, 
those who devoted themselves to our service with untiring 



diligence, where are they ? The companions of our youth, 
how has it fared with them? And when, as upon an 
occasion like this, we come within the walls where our early 
days were passed, and find ourselves after years of absence, 
again associated with the objects of our acquaintance in 
times that are long gone by, as well as with a portion of the 
remnant of that living assemblage which gave them anima- 
tion and interest, it is then that the fading picture is restored, 
mellowed by time, but disclosing to us affecting realities, 
which had escaped our attention while we were ourselves a 
part of the moving groupe ? It is then that the question will 
recur — why were we here? But this question is immediately 
superceded by another, bringing it to the test of experience — 
what permanent advantage has any one derived from having 
been here? What influence has education had upon his 
after life? Has it made him wiser and happier, a better 
citizen, a more useful member of society ? 

As often as questions like these recur, (and to thoughtful 
minds they will recur very often,) the first reflection they 
produce will be, that every advantage in life is attended 
with correspondent obligation. In proportion to the talent 
committed to us is the claim for its improvement. If from 
our earliest infancy we have been watched over with parental 
solicitude; if unceasing pains have been devoted to aid the 
developement of our faculties ; if, as we advanced and the first 
nourishment of children became too weak for our increasing 
strength, the labors of learned and pious men have been 
engaged to carry on the good work of moral and intellectual 
discipline ; if in mercy we have been permitted to arrive at 
the age of comparative maturity, unstricken by disease or 



infirmity, and to enter upon the duties of life with faculties 
unclouded and health unimpaired; if, in a word, we are 
committed to ourselves in the enjoyment of the blessings of a 
reasonable measure of bodily strength, and with the benefit 
of all the advantages to be derived from the unwearied 
application of experienced wisdom to our improvement, we 
must be wanting in duty to ourselves, unmindful of what 
we owe to others, and ungrateful for the bounty of Heaven, 
if we do not rightly appreciate and adequately secure the rich 
patrimony which has been thus provided for us. 

In this process of examination, the first point in order, and 
not the least in magnitude, will be that interesting epoch 
already mentioned. The day of leaving College will be ever 
present to the memory, in a review of life, and will be re- 
garded with pleasure or with pain, exactly as a conscientious 
judgment may be able to pronounce that it has been reached 
with honor, and its good fruits gathered as they ought to be. 
But let us not be misunderstood. It would neither be just, 
nor rational to conclude, that individual merit in this respect 
is to be precisely and finally graduated according to the com- 
parative eminence that may be attained ; still less that all 
are to be considered as having failed, who have not attained 
the very highest distinction in College. Slight shades of 
difference in intellectual energy, a less advanced state of the 
faculties, accidental disturbance in study, temporary loss of 
health, many things not depending upon himself, may cause 
a student's name to be associated with a number below the 
first. It happens, too, and deserves to be especially remarked, 
for the consideration of parents, and of all who are charged 
with the care of the instruction of youth, that a failure in the 



9 

competition for the highest honors of the College, is owing 
sometimes to defect in preparatory education. If that has 
been defective and insufficient, there is a want of strength for 
the trials of the collegiate course, which can only be supplied 
by uncommon abilities or extraordinary application. Yery 
often, however, this sense of comparative weakness developed 
in the exercises of the College, becomes a discouragement to 
exertion, and the young aspirant yielding to what seems 
to be an invincible obstacle in the path of a just ambition, 
abandons himself to indolent despair, and sinks below the 
level he might really have attained without any very undue 
effort. Of the permanent ill effects of such despondency, 
which every day becomes deeper, as its consequences are 
more and more felt, until it settles into a permanent feeling 
of self-abasement ; — of the probability or even the possibility, 
that it may enfeeble the character for life, disappointing and 
destroying the hopes of friends, and turning to naught the 
time, the labor and the expense bestowed for his improvement, 
it is needless to speak. Let us hope that they seldom occur, 
at least to the whole extent that has been suggested. That 
they may occur, in any degree, even though it be far short 
of the measure of calamity, supposed to be possible, is one 
among many arguments, that might be urged to enforce the 
duty of parents and guardians who are entrusted with the 
care of children. They cannot be too often, nor too anxiously 
reminded, that upon this point the responsibility is theirs. 
The examinations for admission into College will, to be 
sure, exclude the cases of plain deficiency — though not even 
then, without encountering resistance and complaint ; — but 
that fulness of preparation, which will give confidence and 



10 

strength, and enable the student to apply himself to his task 7 
with all the power at command which ought to be brought 
to it, depends upon j^ears of previous careful instruction and 
discipline — nay, it depends upon every moment of those 
years, and hence the indispensable necessity there is, and 
the high obligation resulting from it, that every moment 
shall have been well employed, under the direction of able 
and conscientious teachers. 

It is a mistake to suppose that this portion of education 
may be committed to feeble and incompetent hands — that it 
may be negligently conducted without much injury — and 
that all its omissions and defects are to be made up and 
supplied during the few years that are passed in College. 
This is what a College does not profess to do, It is what a 
College cannot do. Its professors, however learned, cannot 
bring back the time that has gone by, nor cause the work to 
be done, which that time was allotted for performing. If it 
were allowable at present to dwell longer upon this subject, 
it might be added with unquestionable truth, that the ex- 
aminations for admission into College ought to be considered 
as* the disinterested judgment of enlightened and competent 
men upon the progress that has been made. — There can be 
no motive for unreasonable strictness. The bias, if any 
there be, must be on the other side. There is great danger? 
indeed, that the motives for undue laxity will be too much 
increased, since institutions professing to teach the higher 
branches have become so multiplied in our country ; some 
of them struggling for a precarious existence, with the fear of 
poverty always before their eyes. But if in the faithful 
discharge of their duty, as examiners for admisson into 



H 

College, professors are obliged to make known to parents, 
that their children are not qualified, however unwelcome 
such a communication may be, parents, if considerate, will 
receive it, as information given to them, for their own benefit, 
and instead of complaining, or seeking to evade its effects, 
by appealing to a more liberal tribunal, or a more indulgent 
interpretation, will profit by it, for the benefit of their offspring, 
by sending them to places of instruction, where their defects 
can be supplied. A little more time may qualify them to 
enjoy the advantages of College. "What will they be profited 
by entering College, if they be not so qualified ? At best, 
they can reap but a barren honor. And this is not all. If 
when their course is finished, they are found to be deficient 
in the proper requirements belonging to a collegate education, 
they are degraded in the estimation of others, as wanting in 
capacity or industry to profit by the opportunity they have 
enjoyed. What seemed to be an advantage, thus becomes 
in effect, a most serious injury. — The whole matter may be 
thus summed up. The work is in fact but one. The 
preparatory education is the ground- work. The collegiate 
education, is the structure raised upon it. If the former be 
wanting, the latter has nothing to rest upon. If the one be 
defective or unsound, the other will be imperfect and insecure. 
Should it become necessary in any given case to decide 
which of these shall be dispensed with, (both being unattain- 
able,) there can be no hesitation whatever in making the 
decision. An attempt to build without a foundation is too 
obviously absurd to require to be insisted upon, and any 
scheme, however plausible, which professes to accomplish such 
an end, must inevitably originate in ignorance or imposture. 



12 

A College may perhaps be so organized as to do the work 
of a Grammar School, and then it ought to be considered as 
a Grammar School, and nothing more; but if it undertake to 
do the proper work of a College, without the aid of suitable 
preparatory instruction, it will graduate pupils who with 
their Bachelor's diploma in their hands, could not be received 
into the lowest form of a conscientious and well arranged 
institution, without a violation of its Statutes, and, (if it 
be not a contradiction to say so,) an egregious imposition 
upon their parents. 

Long as this digression has already been, it is impossible 
to leave it, without an additional remark. After what has 
been said, very little reflection is necessary to enable any one 
to perceive, how important a place in the work of education 
is occupied by what have been denominated preparatory 
schools, by which of course are understood to be meant, those 
schools where pupils spend some of the years, which precede 
their being presented for admission into College. Yet, it is 
more than doubtful whether their value is justly appreciated; 
or those who labor in them as teachers, are in general 
estimated as they ought to be. The name may have some 
influence. They are denominated Schools, which at the 
same time that it places them in the relation of inferiority to 
Universities and Colleges, seems to confound them with the 
greater part of the class designated by the same term, and 
occupied only with the instruction of children. They are 
affected too by the fact, that their pupils, when received into 
them are really children, and a large portion must always be 
actually of that description. But while to those who take a 
careless or superficial view, it has thus the appearance of 



13 

a children's school, it will be found to embrace a portion of 
life when the developement of the faculties is more rapid, 
and the transition greater, than, at any other period whatever. 
Compare a boy, for example, of ten years of age, entering 
upon a course of discipline like that we have been speaking 
of, with the youth of fourteen or fifteen who has passed 
through it. What a difference there is in his moral and 
intellectual power? How much may have been determined 
for his future character and habits ? His success in College, 
as we have already seen, may depend upon it, and the 
character and the self-respect with which he enters upon the 
larger scene of life may be influenced materially by that 
success. Nor must it be forgotten that the entrance into 
College is the period when the first considerable change of 
discipline takes place. The pupil is no longer to be so much 
in the presence of his teacher, nor under his immediate 
personal inspection and control. He is to be left more to his 
own government, rendering an account of his conduct, at 
stated periods, by the ability he manifests to perform his tasks 
in the recitation room. For this change too, he is to be 
prepared. A most serious one it unquestionably must be, 
since it commits to him at once the direction of so large a 
portion of his own employment, and requires him to make 
the first serious essay, (which through all his life long, 
he will be obliged to repeat, if he mean to be a rational 
creature,) of his capacity to sacrifice present inclination, for 
the attainment of future advantage — to make his appetites 
and his passions yield to his sense of duty. 

Enough it is hoped has been said to give some faint and 
imperfect notion of the nature of the charge which devolves 



14 

upon him who undertakes to conduct this portion of prepara- 
tory education. In proportion as it is arduous and important, 
ought the teacher who faithfully acquits himself of it, to be 
treated with respect and consideration — not for his own sake 
merely, and as due in justice to honest and valuable services 
of a very high order — but for the sake of society, for the 
sake of parents, for the support and advancement of the great 
interests of morality and learning. All are deeply concerned, 
and there is little hazard in asserting that the finishing 
department of education can never be what it ought to be, 
unless the department where so large a part of the substance 
and body of the work is prepared, be sustained at its proper 
elevation, by an adequate public estimate of its value, and a 
suitable regard for those who labor in it with diligence and 
effect. Let them be judged, not by ridiculous promises, 
which any one may know can never be fulfilled — not by 
assurances of short and easy methods — not by a vain dis- 
play of trifling accomplishments, or precocious and ephemeral 
acquirement to captivate the ignorant ; — but by the fair fruits 
of discipline and instruction, coming in season, gradually 
unfolding their beauty, and at length attaining their full size, 
,and ripening according to the order of nature. 

But to return after this protracted departure, to the point 
from which we set out. It is not necessary to enter at all 
into the question how far the judgment of a learned and 
impartial faculty, in estimating the capacity and merits of 
the students sent forth from the Institution, is invariably 
confirmed by the judgment of time ; — whether the earnest 
given of comparative eminence in youth, is sure to be 
followed by distinction in riper years. In looking through 



15 

the annals of Nassau Hall, now embracing a period of almost 
ninety years, and resplendent with the virtues and honors 
of her children, one cannot help believing that the efforts of 
piety and learning, here applied with unremitting diligence, 
have been signally blessed and prospered. Into what field of 
usefulness in our country, into what scene of exertion where 
good was to be done, or right honor to be gained, shall we 
look, without finding her sons among the most distinguished % 
And of those who have thus been signalized, we shall find 
in general, that their youth was marked by the rewards of 
diligence and good conduct. There may be exceptions — 
doubtless there are some. But they are only exceptions, few 
in number, and bearing no proportion to the multitudes 
whose future life has been characterized by a continuance 
of the same habits which fixed their station here, bearing 
testimony of the most conclusive nature, to the just peception 
and fair decision of the authorities of the College, as well as 
to the enduring power of good discipline and instruction. 
Let no one then flatter himself, that he can redeem the time 
he has thrown away in his youth, or that he will be able to 
cast off the unhappy influence of the vicious propensities he 
has indulged at the expense of his reputation and standing: 
in the place of his education. It may happen — undoubtedly 
it does happen — just often enough to entitle it to be ranked 
among the possibilities, which like the prizes in a lottery,, 
that can fall but to the few, serve nevertheless to delude and 
mislead the many, often to their ruin. Every day has \is 
appropriate work, sufficient to occupy it fully. A rational 
being can commit no greater error than to indulge himself ins 
the indolent hope, that the day which is to come, will bring: 



16 

with it more powerful incentives to virtuous resolution, than 

that which is present, or that besides its own proper duties, 

it will afford him time for the performance of those which 

have been previously neglected. And if it could, will the 

opportunity that has been neglected and lost, ever return % 

To come directly to the very point in question, can he who 

has wasted the precious time allotted for instruction in College, 

rejected the counsels and aid of its learned preceptors, when 

they were offered to him, and heedlessly and unprofitably 

outlived the age, and outgrown the stature of a pupil — can 

he promise himself that these advantages will ever return ? 

No ; if he will reflect, he will be obliged to confess, that it is 

almost impossible. He may perhaps repair, to some extent, 

the injury that has been done. But how will he accomplish 

it ? By solitary labor, unaided, or irregularly aided — by means 

the best he can employ, but defective and insufficient, and not 

to be compared with those which in his folly he has thrown 

away — so that at last his achievement will be imperfect, and 

short of what it might have been. And if he succeed at all, 

what will it cost him ? To say nothing of the shame and 

mortification and self-reproach, inseparably attendant upon 

the awakening sense of coriscious inferiority — of the sighs of 

regret, and the pangs of repentance, for his irrational folly — 

of the perplexing and anxious doubts that will haunt him 

whether he will be able to redeem himself by any exerlion 

he can make — to omit even to contrast the gloom which 

from all these causes will seem to surround him, with the 

cheerful light that would have played upon his footsteps if 

he had always walked in the path of duty — passing all this 

by, what, we repeat, has it cost him ? A portion of time 



17 

which ought to have been devoted to other attainments, and 
might have been so devoted, is taken from its proper purpose, 
to make up former deficiencies. The fund for to-day is 
consumed in paying off the arrears of yesterday. — Life is 
too short to allow of such deductions. It is long enough, 
if properly employed, but it has not a moment to spare for 
repairing wanton waste. 

Besides — the days of our life, though, like so many pieces 
of coin, they are all of equal value, are not, like this servant of 
commerce, equally applicable to every purpose. If they are 
numbered, so are they assuredly marked. From the first 
budding of the faculties through all their growth, there is an 
arrangement of them discernible, admirable in itself, and 
admirably adapted to the perfection of the whole. In the 
earlier stages of existence, eager curiosity is diligent in 
collecting, and the store-house of memory, unoccupied, and 
with all its avenues clear and unobstructed, is ready to receive 
and to retain what is deposited. As we advance, reason 
begins to act her part, at first feebly and with hesitation, but 
from day to day with increasing confidence, if not with 
increasing strength. Passion and appetite, also, become 
tumultuous and clamorous, requiring the continual exercise 
of our better nature to keep them in due subordination, and 
give to their impulse the right direction. The moral sense 
too, the sure guide within us, begins to be developed, the 
faithful witness and monitor, the immediate manifestation of 
Divine wisdom and goodness, without which all would be 
chaos and disorder. We arrive at length at the period when 
childhood has not ceased, and manhood has not begun, but 
when there is, as it were, a divided empire between them. 



18 

neither being ascendant, but each contributing something of 
its powers, to prepare for the moment when manhood ought 
to assume the whole dominion. Curiosity is still sufficiently 
awake, the memory is tenacious, and both are as yet undis- 
turbed by the cares and perplexities which fill up so large a 
measure of our later years. This is the season for learning 
and discipline, indicated by the law of our nature, and it is 
quite certain that the indication cannot be neglected without 
great injury. If it were not to enter too nicely into the 
matter, it might be further remarked, that to this period there 
is an indulgence by common consent, which makes some 
things almost becoming and graceful, which at a later time 
would be deemed offensive or ridiculous. Every movement of 
an infant is said to be graceful. Its little limbs cannot be 
thrown into a position which strikes us as awkward or ugly. 
So it is with the time of life we are speaking of, considered 
with reference to wholesome intellectual movement. A 
little vanity may be indulged, some display — manifestations, 
though they be inordinate, of a sense of the importance of his 
pursuits, and of his own success in them, even a little of 
what is called pedantry. We know that they will be pruned 
off, and in the mean* time the nourishment he receives is 
entering deeply into the intellectual and moral constitution, 
preparing it to present the harmonious and well proportioned 
combination which makes up the character of an educated 
man. In a riper age will such indulgence be allowed ? A 
child that has taken its first lessons in dancing, may be 
excused if for a few days it forgets to walk but in the steps 
of the school, or to stand but in the positions it has been 
taught. What would be said of a full grown man who 



19 

should act so childish a part? He may learn to dance, but 
he must learn like a man, and not like a child ; under 
restraints and difficulties from which a child would be free. 
And after all, will such education be complete or perfect 1 
Will it, like that received at the proper season, be wrought 
into the system, so as to become a part of it, or will it be in 
a manner awkwardly set on, defective, not thoroughly incor- 
porated, and betraying that it is the forced product of culture 
unseasonably late? Let it be remembered, that we are not 
now speaking of those rare men, in whom an all conquering 
natural vigor overcomes every difficulty, and carrying them to 
a lofty elevation, sustains them there in defiance of ordinary 
calculation. Still less, would we speak of such as having, 
from any cause whatever, been destitute of the means of early 
education, seize upon the first occasion that presents itself to 
supply the defect. They act wisely and well. They deserve 
to be cheered and encouraged and aided, and as they 
have nothing to reproach themselves with, (though, it must 
never be forgotten, they have much to regret,) they begin, 
with a clear and approving conscience, a work good in itself, 
and which the very effort proves they would have undertaken 
sooner if they could have done so. No : we speak not of 
such ; we speak of the average class of mind, and of those 
who have the opportunity of being educated, but cast it away 
upon the miserable speculation that they will make up for 
lost time hereafter. To far the greater part — they may be 
assured of it — that hereafter will never come. Indolence 
and sensuality will grow with their growth. They will 
every day become more and more disqualified for the task, 
while the task itself will become heavier as their strength 



20 

decreases. To those (if any) to whom that hereafter may 
come, how will it come? Their companions, furnished and 
provided by the diligent prosecution of their studies, are 
already on their journey, and they must go back to try to 
pick up what they have left along the road behind them. 
What reasonable hope can they have of overtaking those 
who are already so far in advance ? If more were necessary, 
upon a subject which seems itself to be so very plain as not 
to require either discussion or argument, there still remains 
a motive to be urged in addition, of sufficient power to 
determine the conduct of any one, who has a heart to feel, 
or an understanding to perceive the obligations of a duty as 
clear in its commands, as it ought to be delightful in its 
performance. Why attempt to explain or to enforce it? We 
have just witnessed a scene that will tell us what it is, with 
a vividness and force which no description can approach. 
In the midst of the assembled multitude brought together to 
witness the exercises of this day, your eye may perhaps have 
alighted upon one absorbed by deep and agitated feeling, and 
in spite of every exertion to assume composure, betraying 
the influence of uncontrolable emotion. That was a parent, 
come to enjoy the highest gratification a parent's heart can 
experience — to be repaid for years of anxious care, and for 
sacrifices which none but a parent could make, by seeing 
a beloved child come forth with honor and applause from his 
final trial here. Shall we reverse the picture? Shall we 
endeavor to describe the pang that would follow the annun- 
ciation that he was unworthy to participate in the exercises 
of the day, or to receive the public seal of approbation of his 
conduct? that he had yielded to the seductions of vice or 



21 

idleness, and satisfied himself with the miserable hope, that 
at some future time he would bind up the wounds his folly 
was inflicting upon the hearts of his parents and friends? 
No. Happily such extravagant perverseness is of very rare 
occurrence. We need not therefore dwell upon it. One 
single word more upon this part of the subject, and we must 
dismiss it with the brief and imperfect notice it has received, 
in order to proceed to other considerations which seem to 
deserve attention. In the distribution of the honors of the 
College, there are, as there ought to be, distinctions of 
degree, founded upon the aggregate result of attainment and 
conduct. How very nice they are, and upon what slight 
circumstances they may sometimes rest, is apparent from 
the fact that, an absolute equality is often declared between 
two or three. Admitting, as we freely do, that such dis- 
tinctions are proper in themselves, and the adjudication of 
them in general is correct and just; and admitting too, that 
very frequently they are found to be confirmed through life ; 
yet neither in College nor in life are they to be considered as 
the conclusive evidence of comparative merit. If, for example, 
in a class to be graduated, there should be ten, who have 
been alike distinguished throughout their whole career, for 
exemplary deportment, for a faithful observance of the laws 
of the Institution, for a diligent prosecution of their studuies, 
for all in short that it was in their power to do, shall we 
not say that they are entitled to equal praise? Assuredly, 
for all have done their duty to the whole measure of their 
abilities. Yet, it must be confessed, that there may be a 
difference among them in intellectual capacity, which though 
it cannot have the slightest weight in a moral judgment 



22 

of their respective claims, is nevertheless a proper ground of 
distinction in arranging the order in which they stand, 
estimated by what they have actually accomplished. Every 
student should aim at the highest distinction — every parent 
may be indulged in the hope that his child will gain it, and 
may be allowed to rejoice if he should be marked as the first 
in his class. But, if disappointed in this his highest hope, 
he can be truly assured of all (he rest, great reason has he 
still to rejoice, and be thankful for such a child — strong 
ground for confidence in his future character. The root is 
there — the soil is proved to be good — and, with the blessing 
of God, he may count upon the increase, a steady and 
upright walk through life, with corresponding respectability 
and usefulness. If at such a moment, an undue pride 
should be suffered in the least to check the flow of devout 
gratitude, it must be because for that moment he forgets 
what a multitude of blessings have been granted. The last 
drop he would have desired may have been withheld ; but 
his cup is full, and all that is in it is pure and sweet. 

Upon this subject of the higher education, or what, at the 
expense of a frequent repetition of the same words, may be 
called a collegiate education, there are at ail times erroneous 
notions afloat, to a greater or less extent, which undoubtedly 
have the effect of li miting and lessening its influence. So far as 
they prevail, they do great mischief. Sometimes, they prevent 
parents from giving this advantage to their children. There 
is no use, they will say, in sending youth to a College. 
Often, yielding to what they consider as a custom, to which 
they must conform, that they may not be entirely out of 
the fashion, they send their children — but send them with 



23 

doubts and indifference, as to the value of what they are 
to do, too plainly manifested to be misunderstood, and with 
the sanction of parental authority, sure to be imbibed and 
cherished by the youthful mind. This, at the least, enfeebles 
their efforts, and is very apt, besides, to bring them into 
conflict with the discipline and authorities of the College. 
How can they have any respect for either, if they are taught 
to believe that they are useless, or worse ? It is not unlikely 
that these erroneous notions have still a further influence, not 
so distinctly marked, nor so easily detected, but of far more 
extensive operation, than either of those that have been 
mentioned. They teach the student who is going out of 
College, to undervalue what he has there acquired, and to 
suffer it to perish from neglect. That he thus entirely loses 
the benefit of education, is what no one will contend. On 
the contrary an effort will be presently made to show that he 
does not. But that he fails to derive from it all the advan- 
tage that he might, is thought to be so clear, that no one 
can deny it. This, however, is his own proper, personal 
loss, and nothing more. Great as it is, it is for his own 
consideration merely. But he has much more to answer for. 
He hurts the cause of education, by not holding up to view 
the whole advantages it is capable of conferring. He lowers 
the class of educated men to which he belongs, by failing to 
contribute what he can to raise it in the public estimation. 
He injures the character of his country, by suffering this 
class, which ought to be its pride and ornament, to sink 
below the level it is capable with adequate exertion of 
maintaining. Surely this is responsibility enough. Self 
love, benevolence, patriotism — the duty he owes to himself. 



24 

to others, to his country — all call upon him with a loud 
Voice to preserve and increase what he has acquired. 

Leaving this. topic, for the present, let us devote a few 
minutes to the examination of one of the errors alluded to. 
Nothing that is very new or very striking can probably be 
said upon it to such an audience as is here assembled. But 
truth must be often repeated, however trite it may become 
by repetition. It seems to be a condition of our nature that 
what is good and valuable is to be maintained and preserved 
by incessant vigilance, while mischief is self-acting and works 
by its own vigor. It is indeed a law of wholesome moral 
discipline, to bring into exercise our better faculties, by 
requiring their continual exertion to assert and vindicate what 
is right and good. In sue h a work there is little room for 
the employment of ingenuity — less for the indulgence of 
fancy. Paradox may glitter in the ornaments of human 
contrivance. Error may be infinitely diversified, so as to 
have the charm of perpetual novelty. But truth is one. 
The road to it is one. It allows of no deviation, but must 
be approached straight forward, by sober investigation, and 
patient inquiry. One recommendation it has, beyond all 
doubt. In this straight road, no one who fairly followed it, 
was ever lost. 

The error chiefly in view, is that which supposes the 
higher education, or collegiate education, to be useful and 
even necessary for those who are intended for what are 
denominated the learned professions, but not for those who 
expect to dedicate their lives to other occupations. If a 
parent, mean that his son shall be a divine, or a lawyer, or 
a physician, he does right, according to this theory, in sending 



25 

him to College ; but if he mean that he shall follow any 
other way of life, a College is not a suitable place for him. 
Thus stating the matter, it will be at once perceived where 
the danger lies, and what is the extent and magnitude of 
that danger, if such a notion as this could become generally 
prevalent. Of all the youth of a country, by far the greater 
part are debarred by uncontrollable circumstances from the 
privilege of extended moral and intellectual culture. The 
residue, consisting of the few who might enjoy this advan- 
tage, is to be again divided, and a portion of that few to be 
excluded — strange to say — by deliberate choice. It cannot 
be requisite, in exposing the fallacy of an opinion like this, 
to insist upon the obvious objection, that it assumes a basis 
which cannot be admitted, namely, that the occupation for 
life is to be determined before the time arrives for entering 
College. It would be unwise if it were practicable. But 
it is plainly impracticable. Who can tell what changes 
may happen before the period arrives for carrying such a 
decision into execution ? Why then make it ? Why adopt 
unchangeably a system for the future, when the future may 
not admit of its application? Surely no discreet parent — 
whatever his fond anticipations might suggest — would do 
any thing so absurd. He will postpone his decision, till the 
fit time for it shall arrive, and that fit time is not the period 
for entering College, but the period of leaving it. The 
faculties and dispositions are then more fully developed, the 
character better understood, the means of forming a judgment 
more distinct and ample. One consideration, indeed, ought 
upon this point to be entirely conclusive. The trials of the 
College, and their results, are themselves the very best 






26 



guides to a sound and wise decision. They test by actual 
experiment the qualities which are the proper elements of 
judgment in this delicate and important question. Sometimes 
it may happen that they disappoint expectation. Much 
oftener they disclose a power which was before unknown, 
and but for their searching efficacy, might have remained 
unknown, even to the possessor of it himself. If they had 
no other use than this ; if the process of collegiate education 
had no other virtue, than to detect and bring out the latent 
fire which lies slumbering and unnoticed for want of excite- 
ment and collision, what parent who can duly estimate the 
value of such a hidden treasure, would hesitate to have 
it sought for, if there were but a chance that it might be 
found by searching. Nor is it necessary to urge another 
obvious consideration, namely, that the choice of a pursuit or 
occupation, made at the proper time, and actually carried 
into execution, is still not final. How many accidents, over 
which he has no control, may compel a man to change his 
pursuit in life? How many powerful motives may induce him 
to do so, when he is under no such compulsion. Instances 
of both are every day occurring, numerous enough to falsify 
a calculation founded upon the indissoluble union of man 
with the occupation he enters upon in the beginning of life. 
Waving these considerations, however, weighty as they 
are, enough will still remain to show satisfactorily, nay, to 
show demonstratively, that this notion has no foundation 
whatever, and thence to lead us to the plain conclusion, that 
every parent who has it in his power, is bound in duty to 
give his child a collegiate education, unless he can give him 
a better. It is not intended tojjiscuss at all the question 



27 , A ^ 

between public and private instruction. Ail that is to be 
insisted upon is, the advantage of as full a measure of 
thorough education, as can be given, without encroaching 
upon that portion of life, which in the order of nature 
ought to be applied to the performance of duty, rather than 
to preparation for it. 

It may be, that in the distribution of the occupations of 
this world, with reference to their nature, some are regarded 
as intellectual, and others as not so ; and it may be that it is 
thence concluded, that the culture of the intellect is necessary 
for the former, but not for the latter. Such a distribution 
cannot be admitted to be correct. But if it were, would the 
inference be a just one ? Upon a fair estimate of the matter, 
it ought to be the very reverse. If the way of life to be 
followed, is such as to afford neither nourishment nor 
discipline to the intellect, then ought the provision of both 
to be the greater before it is entered upon, unless we mean to 
admit the extravagant suggestion, that the capacity which 
our Maker has in his wisdom given us, may, with impunity, 
be suffered to perish. A divine, or a lawyer, or a physician, 
is all his life long in a state of intellectual exercise ; — his 
faculties are continually kept alive, and in healthy action, 
and his learning continually increasing; — this is what is 
said, — therefore it is proper that he should receive a full 
preparatory training — that he should be fully educated. One 
devoted to some other calling — we dare not be more specific 
— it would be deemed derogatory and disrespectful — such an 
one will never be invited or required by his occupation to 
make an effort of mind, nor furnished by it with the slightest 
particle of intellectual wealth. The stock that he begins 



28 

with, is all that he can ever expect to have. Therefore, it 

is better that he should begin with none at all. Absolute 

destitution is thus deliberately chosen. Such a conclusion is 

not warranted by sound logic, nor by sound wisdom. It is 

worse than this — it is immoral and sinful. It is no better 

than a voluntary sacrifice of the gifts of God, to some mean 

idol, whose ministers are the meanest appetites of man. That 

any parent should ever consent thus to devote a child, with 

a sense of what he is doing, it is impossible to believe. If he 

err, it must be simple error, the offspring of sheer ignorance. 

But is there any reason in such a distribution, or, to speak 

with more exactness, is there any sense in the inference 

made from it? Is it true that education can or ought to 

be thus adapted to the occupation or profession intended to be 

pursued? There is no difficulty in understanding why a 

very large portion of mankind are excluded from the benefits 

of liberal education. It is from various causes placed beyond 

their reach. Of such we do not speak. We speak only of 

those who have it in their power; and as to them we would 

inquire whether there is any rational ground for asserting, 

that some ought to have more, and others less of the 

advantages of early discipline and culture. Whether, in other 

words, to the inevitable privation caused by uncontrollable 

circumstances, we are to add a conventioanl privation, arising 

out of the arrangements of society; — whether, to state it 

plainly and at once, in the shape of example, one who is to 

be a merchant, ought to be less educated, than one who is 

to be a lawyer; — whether the one ought to be sent to College, 

and continue to receive instruction 'till the age of eighteen 

or nineteen, and the other be taken from school, and put 



29 

to work, at thirteen or fourteen, simply because they are 
respectively designed for different pursuits? 

The first mistake committed by those who would adopt 
this arbitrary and injurious distinction, is in supposing that a 
man's occupation or profession, being merely of a worldly 
nature, is the whole concern of his life; that it occupies all 
his time, and includes all his duties, and all his pleasures. 
Miserable would his condition be, if this were true. Miserably 
would he fulfil the purposes of his existence if it were even 
to approach the truth. But it is not true. For, whether he 
be a lawyer or a merchant, or a planter or a farmer, or a 
manufacturer, he is, notwithstanding, a ma?i, with the high 
privileges and duties belonging to that character, which he 
ought to be able to enjoy and to fulfil. He is a social being, 
connected with those around him, by a thousand ties from 
which he cannot disengage himself, without doing violence 
to the better part of his nature. He cannot shut his eyes to 
distress, nor close his ear to its cry, nor withhold his hand 
from its relief. He cannot refuse to aid the ignorant, or to 
help the friendless. He is a son, a brother, a husband, a 
father, relations which employ and reward his affections, but 
call for the exercise of his virtues and his talents. He is a 
citizen of a free political community, and there, too, finds 
occasion to reflect, that there are other claims upon him, 
besides the claims that are made by his peculiar business. 
Nor must we forget that he is subject to infirmities ; that 
calamity may overtake him; that death will come to him; — 
that he is exposed to temptations ; — that he has an evil heart 
to be purified, and that he stands in need continually of the 
aid of an enlightened conscience. Surely it must be conceded 



30 

by every one who has bestowed a single thought upon our 
nature, that these points of identity are far more numerous, 
and far more important, than the accidental difference occa- 
sioned by profession or occupation. They entirely outweigh 
it. Duly estimated, they render it absolutely insignificant. 
Nay, there is scarcely one of them, that singly taken, is not of 
greater moment. Collectively, they make up the character, 
not of a lawyer, a physician, a merchant, a manufacturer, 
but of that which is common to them all, the character of a 
man — a social man, in a civilized and christian community. 
It is upon these points peculiarly, that education operates, 
where it produces its proper effect. It forms the man — its 
impress is upon the general character — its discipline for 
general usefulness and worth. To admit that any calling 
in life is of such a nature that it cannot be successfully fol- 
lowed by one who is wise and good, or that it will be more 
successfully followed by one who is weak and wicked, would 
be to sink it below the level of honest and worthy occupations. 
Such an admission supposes that it requires the individual 
who enters upon it to be in a degraded state as to morals and 
intellect. Who would be willing that such an opprobrium 
should be fastened upon the: occupation he follows, and, as an 
unavoidable consequence, attach to himself, and go with his 
gains to his children ? No one, assuredly. But some who 
would indignantly reject such an imputation, will hint, 
nevertheless, that a certain natural shrewdness and dexterity, 
unrestrained by too nice an observance of the dictates of a 
becoming pride, or the admonitions of a vigilant moral sense, 
are in some pursuits the best instruments of success. Be it 
so. For the sake of exposing a miserable fallacy, let it be 



31 

conceded that this is the shortest and surest way to succeed. 
What then? Is the nature of the thing altered — by the 
mode of stating it, or even by the assurance that the end is 
likely to be attained 1 What is thus described, is but the 
definition of knavery, however it may be disguised or softened 
in terms. Brought into plain English, it is neither more nor 
less than this, that a knave will do better than an honest 
man. What kind of work must it be, that requires such 
a workman? Will any one with the slightest sense of 
accountability, contend that it is lawful or honorable, or 
becoming? Will any one be hardy enough to assert, that 
an intelligent and accountable creature, ought to be counselled, 
or even permitted, to degrade and dishonor the faculties his 
Maker has given him, by such a prostitution of them, for any 
earthly purpose whatever? If education will preserve him 
from such debasement, it performs a noble office. 

It will appear the more extraordinary that such a notion 
as we are now considering, should be entertained for a single 
moment, when we reflect, that it is now an universally 
established law of society, that men are not to be marked or 
known by their occupation or profession. According to a 
common but somewhat coarse adage, they must not smell of 
the shop. In their general intercourse with their fellow men, 
they must be able to present a character and qualifications 
so entirely independent of their peculiar pursuits in life, that 
what these are, shall not be known by any thing in their 
conduct, or conversation. Such a requirement may possibly 
be sometimes carried too far. But in the main, it is right 7 
and founded in good sense and good breeding, which both 
demand that when we go out into society, we shall leave our 



32 

working dress and our private affairs at home, and carry with 
us what will be agreeable and profitable to others, as well as 
to ourselves. How shall we be able to comply with this 
law, if we have nothing to carry out with us ? Shall we sit 
in a corner, stupid and vacant, contributing nothing to the 
innocent gratification or to the instruction or assistance of 
others, and receiving nothing from them in return ? This is 
what no man could endure. Will he then retreat from the 
world entirely, shut himself up in his own shell, and devote 
himself exclusively to his own concerns? They will not 
occupy him. They are not sufficient for him. No young 
man can live safely in retired leisure, unless he has the 
capacity to read, to reflect, to study, to enjoy the exercise of 
his intellectual and moral faculties. How shall he have this, 
if it has never been cultivated, if he has been left unconscious 
of its very existence? But man is not born to be idle, nor 
to be alone. He must have exercise, and he will seek 
association. If he cannot enjoy what is good, he will betake 
himself to what is bad. He will connect himself with his 
fellow creatures, not by his strength, but by his weakness. 
They will be bound together, not by the exercise of their 
rational powers, but by the indulgence of their sensual and 
vicious propensities, corrupting and destroying, instead of 
enlightening and invigorating each other. These indul- 
gences create and increase wants, whose importunate craving, 
unchecked by moral restraint, leads in so many instances to 
frightful crime. This is a catastrophe too hideous to be 
regarded with indifference or unconcern. 

[n the adoption of such a notion, there seems, besides, 
to be a striking contradiction and inconsistency. There is 



33 

scarcely a man engaged with any activity in business, of 
whatever kind, who does not promise himself a period to his 
labors, when he shall be able to retire from business, and 
enjoy repose and reflection. This is a natural feeling, and, if 
not absolutely universal, a very extensive one. A hasty view 
might incline us to believe that it is nothing but the desire of 
rest. One would fain hope, however, that it is something 
more — that there is a stirring in it of our better faculties— a 
prompting of the sense we have, that these faulties are 
capable of other and higher and more expanded exercise, 
and a sort of promise that their neglect and abuse shall be 
atoned for at some future time — a scheme, in short, for living; 
which, whether well or ill conceived, does certainly admit 
that a man is not living when he is entirely engrossed by his 
business. And this is undoubtedly the truth. The future, 
thus contemplated, if the matter be rightly considered, is 
present every day of our life. It is especially present in the 
earlier part of it. There are portions of every day which 
may be given to reflection, to reading, to preparation for the 
performance of our duties, and to the performance itself. No 
rational man need postpone to the end of his life, that calm 
which all promise themselves ; he may have it each day if 
he will ; he may have it, if he choose to understand aright the 
gracious appointment of the Author of our being, in a still 
higher degree, at the end of each week, when he is not only 
permitted, but enjoined to withdraw one-seventh of his time 
from the cares and occupations of life, and to dedicate it to 
meditations which refresh his weary nature, which purify 
and refine it from earthly corruptions, and while they exalt, 
invigorate it for whatever tasks it has to perform. There 



34 

are those who persuade themselves, that their business 
demands of them all their time, and that even the Sabbath 
cannot be spared for its appropriate employment. Let such 
an one deal fairly with himself. Let him take as strict an 
account of his time as he does of his money, for a week or a 
month, allowing six days to the week, summing up at the 
end all the fragments that have been wasted in listless 
idleness, — that have been worse than wasted in hurtful 
indulgence, or have been involuntarily sacrificed to some of 
the thousand contrivances, invented for killing time, — and 
then say whether he had not a moment to spare for moral 
and intellectual improvement, for cultivating relations of 
good will and kindness, and for fulfilling the duties of a social 
man, in all their various forms. The best excuse he can 
offer, if he should find a large balance against him, will be, 
that he has not been educated — that his taste has not been 
cultivated — that his capacity has not been developed, and 
disciplined; in a word, that he is unable ; — that while yet a 
child, he was plunged, unformed and uninstructed, or 
imperfectly instructed, into the turbulent current of business, 
and he is fit for no other element. Why was he not 
educated, is the natural inquiry ? If he be less than he might 
have been, as the confession seems to imply, there is a grave 
responsibility somewhere. Let all who have the care of the 
conduct of youth, look to it. — But for encroaching upon the 
appointed day of rest — putting aside all serious considerations 
— there is no excuse at all. It is not an evidence of industry 
in one's avocations, but the contrary. It is not profitable, 
even upon a mere worldly estimate, but injurious. It is 
commonly the refuge of laziness and disorderly habits, which, 



35 

neglecting things when they ought to be done, suffer them 
to accumulate, with the expectation that the arrears will be 
cleared off on Sunday. A man who yields to this temptation, 
does not labor seven days — he allows himself seven days to 
do the work of six, and after all, the work is not done. The 
thief procrastination will be sure to steal more than one day 
out of the six, and leave to the seventh an undue proportion 
of work, even though its own proper duty be at the same 
time left entirely unperformed. What was said by Sir 
Matthew Hale in 1662, doubtless he would have been able to 
repeat in 1833. "1 have found by a strict and diligent 
observation, that a due observance of the duty of this day hath 
ever had joined to it, a blessing upon the rest of my time; 
and the week that hath been so begun, hath been blessed and 
prosperous to me." But apart from the considerations which 
governed that pious man, and deserve the deep attention 
of every one ; no one who seriously reflects, will fail to be 
convinced, however paradoxical it may appear, that more 
work can be done in six days, than in seven. The fact is 
believed to support the argument. Speaking as a witness, 
after some experience, and careful observation, 1 can say, that 
many of the most industrious, and, in their respective walks, 
the most eminent men I have known, have been those who 
refrained from worldly employment on the Sabbath. But 
to return to the point under discussion — how do those who 
promise themselves a period of rest and of rational enjoyment, 
after the fatigues of a long day of uninterrupted labor, 
propose to spend it, if in the course of Providence it should be 
mercifully granted to them ? I will not attempt to answer 
the question, but leave it for those to reflect upon, whose 



36 

experience and studies have enabled them to decide, what the 
chances are, that the buds, and the blossoms, and fruit, which 
in the order of nature are the ornament and delight of the 
season of genial warmth, will come forth in the frosts of winter. 
An opinion has already been intimated that the benefits of 
early education, continued through the period which nature 
indicates as the time for training and discipline, are not 
entirely lost, even though the acquirements in College should 
afterwards be neglected. Wholesome nourishment and 
exercise for the mind, are like wholesome nourishment and 
exercise for the body. They enter into the constitution, 
and impart to it general health and strength, and capacity 
for the exertions it may be called upon to make, and the 
trials it may be doomed to suffer. This is especially true of 
childhood and youth/and as to all that concerns our physical 
condition, is universally admitted, in practice, as well as in 
theory. The tender infant is not suffered to lie in torpid 
inaction. Its little frame is put in motion in its mother's 
arms. As soon as it can bear exposure, it is sent forth to 
larger exercise in the open air. The boy is permitted and 
encouraged to rejoice in active and invigorating sports; and 
the youth, quite up to the season of manhood, is taught to 
blend the healthful exertion of his sinews and muscles, with 
the cultivation of his intellectual and moral powers. Why is 
this indication of nature, thus carefully observed and obeyed? 
Why do parents watch with so much anxious care over the 
forming constitution of the body, and seek to train it to grace 
and vigor ? It is because it is forming, and the fashion it 
then receives may more or less abide by it ever after. Their 
anxious care is well bestowed. Much of the happiness of 



37 

life depends upon it, and every one is aware that such is the 
case. Hence it is that gymnastics have been introduced into 
places of instruction, where feats are performed which no 
man of full age expects ever to repeat, unless it should be 
his lot to be a tumbler or a rope dancer. Is there not a 
precise analogy, in this respect, between the two parts of 
our nature ? Have not the moral and intellectual faculties a 
growth, a period of expansion, a season for nourishment and 
direction, when the constitution of the mind and heart is 
taking a form like that of the body, and when the intellectual 
and moral capacities are to be assisted and trained into a 
healthy condition ? Are there no gymnastics of the mind ? 
It would be deemed a palpable absurdity if any one were to 
argue, that a child was likely to be employed in sedentary 
occupations, and therefore it was not material that he should 
have the use of his limbs. Is it not still more absurd to use 
such an argument in relation to his higher and better 
faculties ? It is a great calamity to be deprived of sight — to 
be unable to behold the glories of the visible creation, and 
enjoy the beauties of art. Is it a less one, to be destitute of 
intellectual vision, by which we are enabled to " look through 
nature up to nature's God," and to discern glories greater far 
than those, great as we must confess them to be, which are 
manifested to the eye of the body ? By which, too, we are 
enabled to look into ourselves, and there to see the fearful 
and wonderful thing we are, and how it is that from the 
source of infinite wisdom and goodness, there is an emanation 
of light imparted to us, which we are commanded not to 
allow "to be darkened." Surely, surely, these are reflections 
which ought for ever to silence the sordid calculation that 



38 

would bend man's whole powers down to the earth, instead 
of helping him to grow up towards the heavens. The super- 
incumbent weight of the world's business will press heavily 
enough upon him. With all the preparation he can have, 
and all the improvement he can make of it, there is danger 
that he will but seldom be able to raise himself above the 
thick fog, that creeps along the ground, and limits his view 
to the objects immediately around him, into the clear region 
where higher duties and higher enjoyments offer themselves 
to his attention — where the spirit may breathe, the mind 
hold communion with intelligence, the affections kindle, the 
charities be nursed, and his whole nature exalted, under the 
quickening influence of the consciousness that he is a man. 
It is in this consciousness, properly enlightened, that dwells 
his real dignity, and in it, too, the sense of all his duties. 
What parent, then, who has the ability, will withhold from 
his child, the means of such instruction and discipline, in 
their fullest measure, as may promise to give him a moral 
and intellectual constitution fitted to seize upon, and improve 
the occasions that may arise for purifying and exalting his 
nature, and fulfilling all his obligations ? In this consists his 
highest happiness. It will not control the course of events. 
It will not make adverse fortune prosperous, nor the contrary. 
But, like a wall in the sea, well planted and well supported, 
broad in its foundation, and carried to its proper height, it 
will establish a secure and quiet retreat from the shocks, both 
of prosperity and adversity, to which he may betake himself 
in the hour of dangerous trial, and escape the imminent 
hazard of being overwhelmed by either. 

But in thus earnestly contending that every parent is 



39 

bound to give to his child the fullest measure of education 
in his power, and that what is wrought into the constitution 
in youth may, and probably will, have a good effect in after 
life, let no one suppose that we would countenance for a 
moment the belief, that there is nothing more to be done. 
The responsibility is shifted — it does not cease. When 
parents and guardians and teachers have done all that they 
can do, the rest remains for him who has had the benefit of 
their watchful care. It is for him to preserve, and to improve 
what he has been enabled to acquire. And, let it be added, 
every one has it in his power to do so. But he must lose no 
time about beginning. A portion of every day should be 
thus applied, and the first portion, if possible, be taken from 
the day that follows his leaving College. If that be not 
practicable to the very letter, at least, no time should be 
unnecessarily lost. The accumulation from the savings of 
money, is a thing very well understood. Every one knows, 
that a small sum steadily set apart from day to day, or 
from year to year, through a long life, will, with its regular 
increase, make up in the end, a very large aggregate. This 
sort of economy is sufficiently inculcated, and to encourage it, 
we are told, that there is scarcely an income so small as not 
to allow of its observance. In the management of our 
faculties, for preserving and enlarging our stock of good 
knowledge, there is at least an equal certainty that method 
and industry, with perseverance, will be attended with 
success. Each day's work in itself, is small ; but if every 
day's work be done, it is astonishing how much may be 
gathered together, by the application only of the time that is 
commonly wasted in absolute listlessness. None know it better 



40 

than those who have been careless spendthrifts, squandering 
the moments that might have been profitably employed, 
until at last they find themselves ignorant and destitute, with 
the cutting self-reproach of having a less stock of useful 
acquirements than they carried with them from College. 

Too much of your time has been already occupied to 
permit a discussion of this important topic, at the length it 
deserves. It is not practicable, without most unreasonably 
taxing your patience, to dwell upon the arguments which 
naturally suggest themselves. One view there is, that 
cannot be wholly omitted, and in its behalf, however feebly, 
imperfectly, and hastily, it may at this late hour be stated. 
One moment more is asked. 

The body of educated men in a country, besides their 
other distinctions (all attended with corresponding duties) are 
the natural guardians of the cause of education. They are 
expected to be able to perform the office of guardians. To 
them, chiefly, this great cause must look for support, in all 
its extent and variety, from the highest to the low T est. 
Professors and teachers, learned and able as they may be, 
are still regarded as interested persons, and listened to with 
doubt and distrust. They must be upheld by testimony, 
entitled to respect as disinterested and competent — the 
testimony of men known to be able to appreciate their labors 
and their services, and to judge of their fitness and their 
qualifications. Hence it is, that every considerable institution 
is finally under the control of a board of trustees, in some 
way selected from the mass of the community, to superintend 
its interests, to watch over its conduct, and by actual 
inspection to observe the working of the system as well as 



41 

the capacity and fidelity of all who are entrusted with its 
details. Who will be able to perform this duty but such as 
having had the advantage of early education have improved 
it by continual culture? Who else can be competent to 
judge of the examination of classes, of the merits of professors 
and teachers ? In whom else can there be confidence that 
the great interests of education, are safe under their charge ? 
And they, too, are to be judged; they are amenable to 
public opinion, which is at last to decide upon them, who 
decide upon every thing else. But how shall the tribunal 
be constituted which is to pass upon their doings? How 
shall public opinion be enlightened, so that from their 
judges they may look for justice, unless there be a body of 
educated men, who feel a lively sympathy in their labors 
because they know their value, and who are able by their 
influence to inform and direct the public mind? 

To this same body of educated men, it belongs to judge of 
proposed improvements, to weigh them carefully, to examine 
them thoroughly, and to sanction and adopt them only when 
after a rigorous investigation they appear to be clearly good. 
New schemes are constantly offering themselves, claiming to 
be superior to the ancient methods. Sometimes, they profess 
to make the way of learning easy and quite an amusement ; 
forgetting that one great point in education is to prepare us 
by discipline for a life of exertion and toil. At others, they 
would exclude the ancient languages, and instead of the fine 
models they exhibit in the productions of the masters who 
used them, satisfy us with translations, when every one who 
can study them in the original is aware, that even if the 
substance can be retained, (which is more than doubtful) the 

F 



42 

graces and beauties which constitute their main charm, are 
unavoidably lost in the transfer. Then there are those who, 
under the plea of utility, would crowd into the work of 
education many things which may be admitted to be well in 
their place, and fit enough to be learned at the proper time, 
but have nothing to do with our general nature, nor with 
the cultivation ot our general powers. And so of a thousand 
other plans, to which there is not time even to make an 
allusion. But of all the blows that can be levelled at this 
good cause, there is none so deadly and destructive, as that 
which aims to sever or to weaken the union of learning and 
Religion. Our fathers thought them inseparable. "When 
they were to build up an edifice for instruction, they laid its 
foundation in piety, and they humbly invoked the Divine 
aid to fill the whole structure with the light of truth. 
Nor did they neglect the appointed means. Within its 
walls they fixed an altar, not like that in Athens, inscribed 
to " the Unknown God," but to Him, who having always 
manifested Himself in the works of creation and Providence, 
has also made Himself known by the revelation of His 
attributes, and of His holy will. Around this altar they 
thought it right to assemble daily the youth committed 
to their care, and to endeavor to provide that its fire should 
be fed, and its services be performed, by pious and learned 
men :— that so the perfume of its offerings might fill the 
atmosphere of the nursery of youth — all human learning 
be accomplished with the spirit of devotion, and the recol- 
lection of our dependence, and our duties be continually 
present with the effort to improve the faculties of the mind. 
Such an institution was to be an Alma Mater. It was to 



43 

fulfil a mother's duty, not only with a mother's affection, but 
with the deep religious sense that is seated in a pious mother's 
heart, to guide and govern that affection, so beautifully 
exhibited, in the first lessons of childhood, when the little 
hands are upraised towards heaven, by the mother's side, 
before the tongue has power to give utterance to praise or 
thanksgiving. But now, there are those who would separate 
religion from learning, who would exclude the altar from the 
nursery of youth, and leave the place of instruction without 
any visible manifestation or acknowledgement of duty to our 
Maker. If such a proposal were limited to scoffers at religion, 
to such as indulge in sneers and sarcasms at all that is 
serious, to men who vainly imagine they make themselves 
giants, by raising their puny hand against heaven — it would 
not be surprising, and, comparatively, it would be harmless. 
They are few in number, and of little weight. The real 
matter of astonishment, not unmixed with deep concern, is, 
that it should find favor with any one else. That it can be 
entertained for a moment must be owing to ignorance or 
thoughtlessness. Here, then, the body of educated men must 
take their stand. By all the means in their power they must 
endeavor to avert the pestilent mischief of desecrating the 
places of instruction, of separating the culture of the heart 
from that of the mind; and, under the pretence of a liberal 
morality, of rejecting the only morality that is clear in its 
source, pure in its precepts, and efficacious in its influences — 
the morality of the Gospel. All else, at last, is but idolatry — 
the worship of something of man's own creation, and that 
thing imperfect and feeble like himself, and wholly insuffi- 
cient to give him support and strength. 



44 

Brethren of the Alumni Association — these are but hints 
upon some of the important topics which an occasion like 
the present suggests. To you, who have had the advantages 
of a liberal education, it belongs, to take care that as far as 
depends upon man's ability, these advantages shall continue 
to be held in esteem, and be preserved unimpaired. We 
come to revisit our Alma Mater, not to take shelter again 
under wings, where we were once protected and nourished, 
but with filial duty, and what strength we have, to endeavor 
to uphold and extend her beneficent efforts in the cause of 
religion and learning. To her sons she looks to be her 
witnesses, and her champions — by their lives to show forth 
the fruits of her nurture, and with their manly powers, here 
trained into vigor, to maintain and defend that good cause 
at every point where it may seem to be in danger. 












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